Chapter Text
“Lord Eret? The L’manburg representative will see you now.”
Eret startles in her seat. (Just a bit.) “Of course. I’ll be waiting.”
Eret does a lot of waiting these days- especially where L’manburg is concerned.
Wilbur- President Soot now- was never the same after the Independence war, or so she heard. Eret hasn’t seen him since the treaty signing, and he’d said in no uncertain terms that he refuses to see her again. Which is… understandable, honestly.
It still hurts.
(Just a bit.)
So here she is.
In the L’manburg Embassy.
Waiting.
A short human lady with dark hair and hazel eyes walks through the door.
“Where’s Jack?” Eret asks. “He’s usually the one that does this.”
“Taking a break,” Niki answers. “I offered. But mostly I just wanted to see you.”
Ah.
“You, uh-” Eret’s eyes, with nowhere else to run, awkwardly linger on the blonde forelock in Niki’s hair. “You changed your hair.”
She laughs slightly, tucking back the shorter strands that refuse to cooperate with her bun. “Not really. I just never bothered to touch it back up. We’ve been so busy lately. Being late to a cabinet meeting because I wanted to dye my hair seems a bit…” Her eyes skirt to the side. “...Childish, I guess.”
Eret scoffs. “Did Wilbur tell you that?”
Niki leans forward with a secretive whisper. “He’s probably in shock that I’m a bottle blonde, to be honest. He was so busy trying to do legislation that he forgot hair dye exists.”
“Did he-” Eret interrupts herself with a small giggle. “-did his wings puff out when he finally noticed?”
“They did!” Niki relays. “His wings are so small and grey compared to the rest of him.”
“He keeps saying he’s just a late bloomer,” Eret recalls, “but at this age those wings are probably here to stay.”
Niki laughs, the smile pushing a strong squint into her eyes.
“It’s good to see you laugh,” Eret admits. “I missed our little talks.”
Niki raises a prim eyebrow, smile suddenly that much sharper. “Don’t forget why those talks stopped in the first place, Eret. We’re on different sides now. Remember who chose that.”
And maybe Eret’s crown didn’t magically turn heavier the moment Niki said those words, but perhaps the king was made suddenly aware that the weight was ever there at all.
“Are you sorry for what you’ve done?” Niki gently asks.
Eret thinks for a long moment.
“I’m sorry that it happened the way it did,” Eret decides. “And I’m sorry that it hurt people. But I’m not sure I regret it.”
Niki hums to herself, and after a moment, she takes out a small basket of sandwiches.
“Let’s talk. I missed you, too.”